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Twilight (episode)
For the DS9 novel see ''Twilight.'' The effect of a Delphic Expanse anomaly leaves Archer unable to form any new long-term memories. Twelve years later, he wakes up one morning and is stunned to learn the outcome of the Human-Xindi conflict, including the loss of Earth, and the near-annihilation of the Human race. Summary Teaser Jonathan Archer wakes in his quarters in the midst of battle. He rushes to the bridge only to see Earth destroyed by the Xindi superweapon. Act One Archer wakes in a small house where he finds T'Pol. T'Pol reveals that twelve years have passed since the last thing Archer remembers. The last thing Archer recalls was saving T'Pol from a spatial anomaly on board the ''Enterprise''. T'Pol explains that the anomaly infected Archer's hippocampus with interspatial parasites that prevent him from forming new long-term memories. Each day, Archer wakes up with no memory of anything that had occurred since the accident. Doctor Phlox had long searched for a cure, but nothing worked. As a result of his profound disability, Archer was removed from command and replaced by T'Pol, who accepted a field commission as a captain in Starfleet. After the change in command, Enterprise was unable to find the Xindi superweapon. When Enterprise drew close to the superweapon in 2154, it came under attack by Xindi-Reptilians. Many crewmembers, including Travis Mayweather, died in the assault. The ship also suffered severe damage limiting it to warp 1.7. By the time Enterprise reached the Azati Prime system, the weapon had already been launched. After destroying Earth, the Xindi continued searching the galaxy, determined to hunt down and kill all Humans. Almost all of humanity was ruthlessly wiped out. Archer goes out of the house crying after he hears the bad news. Act Two T'Pol explains to Archer that Enterprise, Intrepid, and another Starfleet starship led a convoy of around 6,000 surviving Humans to Ceti Alpha V. On this remote world, a secret, desolate refugee camp was built to house the remnants of Human society. Enterprise, under the command of Charles Tucker, was stationed in orbit with the remaining Starfleet vessels. Archer retired to the civilian community on the surface. T'Pol, refusing an offer to return to service with the Vulcans, chose to remain at the refugee camp to care for Archer. For over nine years, this last outpost of humanity had survived by remaining hidden from the Xindi. Once T'Pol explained everything, she goes on to say, at this time you often ask if you are a victim of an elaborate deception. Archer remarks that thought did cross his mind. T'Pol makes certain Archer believes her by informing John about Margaret Mullin, a girl he once asked to marry him. Shortly after T'Pol explains all this, Phlox arrives from Denobula, ready to try out a revolutionary new treatment for Archer's condition. Many of Phlox's colleagues in the medical community were convinced that nothing short of a subspace implosion would be needed to destroy the parasites, a treatment which, of course, would also kill the patient. Phlox persevered and developed an alternative but energy-intensive treatment which would target and destroy the parasites without any harm to Archer. With T'Pol, they return to Enterprise, where the warp core will provide the energy necessary for the treatment. Act Three Archer receives a hero's welcome on board his old ship. After the first phase of treatment, Phlox and T'Pol examine records of Archer's brain scans from twelve years ago and realize that the parasites they have eliminated in the present have disappeared from the past as well. If Phlox were to successfully complete the treatment, eliminating all the parasites, then it would be as if the parasites had never existed. This would effectively change history, and Archer would never have suffered from memory loss. Perhaps with Archer in command, Enterprise would have stopped the Xindi weapon, Earth would not have been destroyed, and humanity would not have been nearly wiped out. Unfortunately, Archer's treatment is cut short when Enterprise detects a Yridian spy near Ceti Alpha. This spy tips Tucker off to the fact that the Xindi have found the last outpost and are on their way to finally annihilate the last of the surviving Humans. With Enterprise's power needed for battle, T'Pol and Phlox cannot complete Archer's treatment. Hoshi reports to Captain Tucker that several Xindi ships are approaching. Act Four A short time later, the Xindi attack. Humanity's last stand does not go well. As Enterprise is ripped to pieces, Archer recalls that Phlox said a subspace implosion would destroy the parasites, though it would also destroy the ship in the process. Desperate and with nothing to lose, Archer, T'Pol, and Phlox feverishly work at the warp core to set up a catastrophic subspace implosion. With Xindi soldiers firing around them, Phlox and T'Pol are killed. Archer is also shot, but with his last breath, he manages to push the final lever and initiates the subspace implosion, destroying Enterprise. In the restored timeline, Archer wakes up in sickbay after saving T'Pol from the spatial anomaly. Although Archer suffered a concussion, Phlox expects a full recovery. Memorable Quotes "Did everyone get their own ship while I was gone?" : - Jonathan Archer, after learning that Tucker and Reed had been promoted to captain in his absence. "I hope I have told you this before, but I am very grateful for everything you have done for me." : - Jonathan Archer to T'Pol "You know, you would make a wonderful nurse." : - Captain Archer, after T'Pol got him some pillows "For now the best I can give you is Warp 1.7." "Well, we're not going to get very far at that speed." : - Tucker and Malcolm, as Malcolm responds to the status of the engines Background Information * This episode was chosen as the #1 fan favorite in an on-line poll conducted by UPN. It was re-broadcast on 8 April 2005 in that context. Note: The poll was conducted before the final 6 episodes of the series aired. * Ceti Alpha V was the planet on which Captain James T. Kirk of the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]] exiled Khan Noonien Singh, as seen in . The choice of this planet as the location of the last human colony was something of a "cruel joke" on the part of writer Mike Sussman. Even if the human survivors managed to escape detection by the Xindi, their planet will be made uninhabitable in a little over a hundred years when Ceti Alpha VI explodes, as seen in . * An Earth convoy destroyed in the Mutara system is mentioned by Soval, a reference to the site of a battle between Kirk and Khan, also depicted in . That the area is referred to as the "Mutara system" and not the Mutara Nebula suggests that the nebula may not yet exist in the mid-22nd century. * A sphere-shaped superweapon that can destroy entire planets mirrors the Death Star battle stations from the Star Wars motion pictures. * Enterprise shepherding a "rag-tag fugitive fleet" to a new home after the destruction of Earth was an homage by writer Mike Sussman to ''Battlestar Galactica'' (Sussman had read a bootlegged copy of the pilot script for the re-imagined series prior to writing "Twilight"). * Computer monitors aboard the alternate-timeline Enterprise sported a red, yellow and green color scheme (rather than red, yellow and blue), similar to the computer panels used during the 23rd century as seen in The Original Series. * The final draft script for "Twilight" dated 11/06/2003 gave the Yridian spy the name of "Yerdrin Lek". Earlier drafts called him "Yedrin Koss", but this was changed because there were already two Star Trek characters with similar names: Dax host Yedrin Dax and T'Pol's husband Koss. Promotional materials for the episode used the earlier, incorrect name, which became widely disseminated. It is worth noting the character's name is never mentioned in the episode as aired. * This episode — along with ; ; ; and , as well as the entirety of the Temporal Cold War arc — form a genre of episode that some fans called the "Bad Dream" or "Reset Button". In each of these episodes, a substantially altered future, or past, is presented to the audience. The drama of the episode is then derived from the characters taking some action which restores the time line entirely, such that the events originally depicted in the episode never occurred. * A scene with an aged Porthos (twelve years older) was shot for the future sequences, but didn't make it into the final show. In the "present" scenes, a scene was cut at movie night where Archer told T'Pol about Porthos being stressed - and that he might benefit from neuropressure. * Archer's grey hair is actually a trimmed version of one of the early test wigs for Soval. The actors embraced this, theorizing that, after many years of living together on the planet, T'Pol was now cutting Archer's hair, hence the slightly Vulcan style. Links and References Main Cast * Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer * Jolene Blalock as T'Pol * John Billingsley as Phlox * Dominic Keating as Malcolm Reed * Anthony Montgomery as Travis Mayweather * Linda Park as Hoshi Sato * Connor Trinneer as Charles "Trip" Tucker III Guest Stars * Gary Graham as Soval * Brett Rickaby as Yerdrin Lek Co-Star * Richard Anthony Crenna as Guard Uncredited Co-Stars * Mark Correy as Alex * Duncan K. Fraser as Walsh * Hilde Garcia as Command division Ensign * Ator Tamras as Science division Ensign * Unknown actors as: ** B. Moreno ** R. Ryan ** W. Woods Stunts * Keith Campbell as stunt double for Scott Bakula * Gil Rosales * Justin Sunquist References Alpha Centauri colony (Alpha Centauri); alternate timeline; anterograde amnesia; antimatter inducer; antiproton beam; boatswain's whistle; Ceti Alpha system; Ceti Alpha V; chromosphere; classroom; Command Council; concussion; Denobula; Denobulan shuttle; distress call; duranium; Earth; field commission; Starfleet flight school; Forrest, Maxwell; garbage scow; General; hippocampus; interspatial flux; interspatial parasite; Intrepid; ''Intrepid''-type; Jupiter Station; Martian colonies (Mars); millicochrane; Minshara class; microcellular scan; Mullin, Margaret; Mutara sector; Mutara system; neurosurgeon; phase cannon; plasma injector; plasma torch; Porthos; quantum theory; radiolytic signature; Ramirez, Carlos; Rosemary's Baby; Rigelian flame gem; sentry probe; shields; Shran; subspace buoy; subspace implosion; transporter; turbolift; Vega colony; Vulcan database; Vulcan High Command; warp coil; white flag; Westgate Avenue; Xindi-Insectoid starship; Xindi-Reptilian warship; Yridians; Yridian shuttle (22nd century) |next= }} Category:ENT episodes de:Dämmerung es:Twilight nl:Twilight